Light Fortress
Chapter 192 - 179: The Dream of Wandering (1 update)

Chapter 192: Chapter 179: The Dream of Wandering (1 update)

Above Freedom Hall, a melodious, ethereal bell tolled.

The Freedom Hall, built a hundred years ago to commemorate a victorious war, still retained an ancient tower covered with ivy, with nothing but an empty space on it... save for an old bell.

For the past hundred years, regardless of weather, the old bell had chimed every hour, and those passing by the hall always felt a sense of tranquility when they heard its sound.

The bell continued to toll.

It was a symbol of peace and an embodiment of freedom—

"It’s nine o’clock."

Gu Shen, from beyond the walls, heard the faint grand bell tones, realizing only now that the celebration had been going on for two hours... And it wasn’t until the sound of the bell that he became aware that the atmosphere inside the music hall was unusually quiet and orderly.

The last time he came to the hall.

Though it wasn’t a formal occasion... the "appreciators" sitting below listened to the symphony while whispering softly, yet in the main concert hall, such murmurs were negligible.

But they could not escape the perception of a Transcendent.

And now... the source of the sound was very simple.

Only the soaring, grand music remained, echoing off the walls of the entire hall, with the sound equipment and related instruments inexplicably turned off... Thus, the performance sounded particularly authentic.

Gu Shen’s expression suddenly turned serious as he noticed the rows of seats in front, where the "young nobles" who were listening to the music, previously engaging in private exchanges, now leaned on each other’s shoulders, appearing extremely intimate, while those who came in alone had slumped heads, seemingly asleep.

"...Senior Sister."

Gu Shen unconsciously spoke out, looking towards Lu Nanjin, and then his pupils slightly shrank.

He... received no response.

Lu Nanjin, leaning in the corner at the back of the hall, arms crossed, sacrificed herself to the shadows, but with eyes closed, her breathing was light and steady...

"They’ve fallen asleep."

In the last row, Zhou Jiren’s voice faintly rose.

The old man stretched lazily, opening his eyes to calm, deep as the sea. He gazed past row after row of seats, directly locking onto the orchestra above the stage of the concert hall.

"Spiritual power can be disseminated in many ways... sound is one of them. Theoretically, a top Spiritual Extraordinary can use sound to hypnotize an entire city."

Mr. Shu said expressionlessly, "Do you still remember the third trial in Deep Sea, the stage you are currently in, the method of leading multiple people into a dream called ’Great Hypnosis’? Under such circumstances, if dreamers are forcibly awakened, it’s very likely to cause irreversible damage to their brains."

Gu Shen’s gaze locked onto the first three rows.

The lady and Zhao Xilai, Chen San, and Cui Zhongcheng... were still talking.

These four prominent figures all possessed top "Defensive Sealing Items."

"Don’t try to wake them up... These four have not entered the dream yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Look closely, the space of the first three rows has been ’isolated’."

A whiff of Chi Huo emerged in Gu Shen’s brow.

Without the enhancement of Chi Huo, the hall was merely a bit more tranquil.

After using Chi Huo to enhance his vision, Gu Shen saw a vision that was breathtakingly terrifying... The Extraordinary Essence floating in the air was several times thicker than that on Yuan Dan Street, and the dense mist almost condensed into tangible droplets.

The hall was like a suspended pool cultivated with Extraordinary Essence.

An invisible black barrier encircled the first three rows, stacking up squarely, enveloping the four individuals with the highest status at the ball, creating a distinct boundary like the rim of a thunder pool.

That was where the sound of the orchestra’s performance first struck, and the further back, the weaker the impact of the spread of spiritual power.

This behavior... was like releasing a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide in a locked room.

By the time the people inside the room realized something was wrong, the oxygen had already been depleted.

Even though those four were equipped with top-level spiritual defense items, being trapped in a barrier... succumbing to the dream was only a matter of time.

Zhou Jiren couldn’t help but offer a sardonic and praising remark, "Such an astonishing method. I’ve been sitting in the concert hall for so long... and even as the music started, I hadn’t noticed anything amiss."

Gu Shen looked toward the center of the stage.

There, Pierre Haitink was immersed in the grand waves of music, conducting with his baton, a thick swirl of blood-colored mist that refused to dissipate appeared on his forehead, and the same could be seen on every musician in the orchestra.

"That’s Xiao’s extraordinary signature... Blood Fire!"

Spiritual Transcendents could cast Great Hypnosis.

But... the Blood Fire at the center of their foreheads was somewhat different from the symptoms of "hypnosis."

"Do you remember the conclusion we came to after the interrogation of Chen Mei?"

Zhou Jiren slowly stood up, "Xiao might not be working alone... It’s likely that his ability involves manipulating the spirit to seize control of the target’s will, turning them into his puppets."

This planner, whose ability remained unknown beyond revealing significant psychic traits, exposed a glimpse of his true nature amidst the grandiose performance of the free dance party.

Even though it all fell within the realm of spiritual powers, the abilities varied greatly.

Pulling others into one’s own dream, and projecting one’s dreams outward, are two entirely different concepts. As for controlling the minds of so many, this went beyond any "Extraordinary Embodiment" recorded on the Federation Genealogy Map.

"Has the Lucerne Orchestra been completely taken over then..."

Cold sweat beaded on Gu Shen’s forehead.

The security forces at the free dance party were actually not weak, with layers upon layers of law enforcers from three major institutions, alongside the Titled one accompanying Councilman Chen San and the Sincere Heart Association’s mightiest fighter from Beitang, all were now near the hall.

He clenched his fists.

In the end, it was his own oversight during the review process that hadn’t identified the target.

"Don’t blame yourself."

Mr. Shu noticed Gu Shen’s concerns and said indifferently, "Possessing such an ability, one can enter any event at will... There’s no need for any disguise or to fear any precaution, one just needs to take over the will of the invitees. We had no way of taking effective measures before this exposure."

"The situation isn’t that bad... after all, I didn’t succumb to the dream."

Zhou Jiren straightened his white suit calmly, "I presume any Transcendent of the Titled level can easily resist such ’Great Hypnosis’... Our original assessment of Xiao was that he caused Zhou Yu’s death and is very likely to have extremely dangerous Titled-level strength. Now it seems, his strength may not be as formidable as we imagined."

Great Hypnosis, wide-ranging, yet low in potency.

It only works against those whose spiritual power is much lower than one’s own.

"I also didn’t succumb to the dream..." Gu Shen lowered his head to look at his hands and furrowed his brow.

"Don’t overthink it, you not succumbing to the dream... is purely an ’accident.’

Mr. Shu gazed towards the center of the hall and spoke evenly, "Don’t think that your ability is special, that it could avoid hypnosis of this level... You didn’t fall asleep because he didn’t want you to sleep."

"Look at the compass in your chest pocket."

The bronze compass was trembling continuously.

Just as the streets of Yuan Dan Street covered its inhabitants, making them immune to being lost in the fog... at this moment, it also protected Gu Shen from being drawn into the dream by the grand soul sound.

Gu Shen silently returned the compass to his pocket.

Once again in his mind flashed the provocative words Xiao had said to him at the end of the mist-colored street.

["Dare you accept this compass... Savior of Da Du’s future, great hero?"]